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The future of aerospace 3D printing is looking bright in numerously different areas, and one topic might particularly grab your attention. We've heard plenty about the future use of drones, both as a possible delivery service through Amazon.com, and in war. It's the latter case where 3D printing could come into play through mass manufacture of drones for combat.

What would this mean for future military budgets in the United States? It helps explain one good reason of many why the White House invested so much money into the process of additive manufacturing.

A Future Battle with Drones

It's possible that any future confrontations we have with another country will have to be conducted with drones to keep up with opposing technology. With so many military secrets possibly stolen in the past and other countries fortifying their military, we should expect a rogue country would also be using drones for spying or combat. And with our own national budgets inflating, the Department of Defense is already thinking of ways to cut back.

After all, in the above report on drones from 3D Printer World, we learn just how many billions of dollars it takes to get our fighter jets produced. That doesn't include the time it takes to manufacture hi-tech aircraft. While rumors keep persisting we have secret aircraft that we'd use in a time of a crucial war, there's no guarantee it's there.

With the 3D printing of drones, they can be printed on a near assembly line and be used instantly without testing and constant refinements. While that might make the sky filled with drones from both sides, we could see most of the war take place from the skies rather than on the ground with troops.

As haunting as that might seem, the advantage is we have access to 3D printing thanks to our prior investments. With the mass manufacture of drones, it could easily make a huge difference during time of a major conflict in both warfare, plus reconnaissance.

But what about those supposedly friendly drones that may deliver packages from Amazon.com?

Will All Drones Be Made from 3D Printers?

No doubt Amazon.com will be looking into the possibility of creating drones with 3D printers, especially if the famous online retailer starts using delivery drones en masse. Even if drones may overcrowd our skies someday, an accurate creation of them off a 3D printer will help lower budgets considerably. On the Amazon.com side, that may lower our own shipping charges if we decide to have something delivered by drone to our front door.

Aerospace technology is going to change radically as 3D additive manufacturing slowly removes traditional manufacturing from the picture. As it does, we suggest you keep reading us here at 3DPrinting.org to keep up on the fast-moving changes.